PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Tuesday, July 1, Khao Kheow – Stableford
We arrived nice and early at Khao Kheow and it was soon to down the first tee. We had been informed by the starter that the challenge for the day would be the A & C Nines, the original test and to me still the best. The weather was also great except for a strong wind.
The first thing we noticed was that the ground was quite soft, it has rained a lot of late, but not enough to make any great difference, just enough to let the ball pick up a bit of mud now and then.
Derek Brook.
Starting on the A Nine we also noticed that the greens were a bit hairy and slow but as we moved along the greens started to dry up and I suspect the cutter got to a couple before we did and so some were a lot faster. We noticed the grass mover was out so also as we went on the fairways got that bit cleaner.
It is not long since the B Nine was totally refurbished, and it is a pleasure to play it. On this day we sailed along, but did not rush, and enjoyed the company. Most of the changes appear subtle, however if we had plans of the original course I am sure we would notice the improvements. Suffice to say we enjoyed this nine as we sailed around, and the scribe, playing his second round for a month, enjoyed it more as he was playing well.
Back at Bert’s we got the results and presentation underway. The winner was your humble scribe Derek Brook with a fine 38 points, ahead of Daryl Evans in second with 37 and that man Mashi Kaneta in third with 34.
Friday, July 4, Mt. Shadow – Rainbow Stableford
It was Friday July 4th – American Independence Day – and the ever hopefuls turned up at Tropical Bert’s and planned for the day. The venue was to be Mountain Shadow, and to commemorate the holiday and inject some variety into the game, a red, white and blue ‘rainbow’ tee rotation was set up. This proved to be interesting and popular, making most holes somewhat different than in the past and requiring a little more thought. Some tees presented a gift of less distance but more strategy, while others were longer and required more consideration for your second shot.
Mountain Shadow was in fine condition and the weather was hot and sunny. They have been fixing up the fairways here and work continues on the remodeling the clubhouse.
Maybe it was because the tee rotation required golfers to concentrate a bit more, or because the course was in good condition, but during the round quite a lot of golfers must have thought “This is my Day.”
Back at Tropical Bert’s the golfers were met with two surprises: the first was a typical American 4th of July meal courtesy of Bert and his staff, while the second surprise was how many good scores had been recorded, and you had to be very good to get a mention.
Max Scott, Mashi Kaneta and Tom Herrington with one of Bert’s finest.
When the counting was done, Max Scott (6) took a well deserved first place with 42 points off his handicap of six! Anytime someone shoots par golf they deserve a big congrats from we mere mortals, no matter which tees they play from. Fireworks indeed this day from Max. Second place went to Mashi Kaneta (13) with 40 points and the Yanks made a showing with Tom Herrington (16) in third place with 39 that included an eagle. Mike O’Brien (23) took fourth place over Ted Morris in fifth on count back, each with 38 points, and more than a few golfers who had 36 and 37 points were left scratching their heads wondering what it takes to win some days.
Near pins went to Max Scott, Tom Herrington, Kurt Ebentheller and Thomas Johansson
